ShareThisBy ROBERT D. DAVILA
Sacramento Bee
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Even on visits home to Nevada County, Calif., Marine Cpl. Sean A. Stokes never wavered in his desire to go back to Iraq, despite intense combat and wounds that earned him three Purple Hearts.
"He said it wasn't so much about patriotism or esprit de corps, although those things were important to him," said Jim Ruffalo, a neighbor in Lake of the Pines, who spoke to Stokes during a visit on leave 2 1/2 years ago. "What was really important to him was these guys had signed up for a job, and they weren't going to quit until it was done."
Stokes was on his fourth tour of duty when he died Monday from wounds suffered during battle in Anbar province, Pentagon officials said. He was 24.
News of his death hit especially hard in Lake of the Pines and nearby Auburn, Calif., where residents publicly celebrated Stokes' safe return home in 2005 after months of heavy fighting in Fallujah. His father, Gary Stokes, declined comment Wednesday.
"The whole place is in mourning," said Ruffalo, an Auburn Journal columnist.
Sean Stokes graduated in 2001 from Bear River High School in Grass Valley, where he played baseball and football. He was an average but enthusiastic student who pushed himself to achieve and decided early to serve his country, former teachers said.
"He had a passion for life and a hunger to do more and be more," said Alexander Croft, who taught Stokes woodworking and social studies at Magnolia Intermediate School. "He was one of those kids who you remember because he just stands out."
Stokes joined the Marines less than a month after Sept. 11, 2001. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton.
Carl Koring, a retired English teacher and counselor at Bear River High School, said Stokes believed strongly in serving.
"When I knew Sean in school, he was pretty introspective," Koring said. "He wanted to continue to develop into a real strong, ethical, moral human being."
Stokes was a rifleman with a battalion landing team in Iraq, said Lance Cpl. Chris Mann, a Camp Pendleton spokesman. Besides the Purple Hearts, Stokes received the Combat Action Ribbon, the Iraqi Campaign Medal, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, the Global War on Terrorism Expedition Medal and other awards, Mann said.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger praised Stokes for serving "with pride and honor" and ordered state Capitol flags flown at half-staff in his memory.
"Sean's death is a painful reminder of the dangers inherent in protecting our country, and his dedicated service will not be forgotten," Schwarzenegger said in a written statement.
(Robert D. Davila can be reached at bdavila(at)sacbee.com. Bee researcher Sheila A. Kern contributed to this report.)
